We chose this cruise on Equinox for its itinerary, length, Miami departure port, and availability for using Marriott Destination points. What a wonderful experience, with a few exceptions.
We reserved an aft corner Sky Suite (Cabin 2146 on Deck 12, starboard side on the resort deck), having really enjoyed the same deck and cabin type on Solstice to Alaska a couple of years ago. We had known from Cruise Critic tips before that trip that there was likely to be some noise from chairs scraping on the deck above, but on the Alaska cruise, it was minimal (probably because it was pretty chilly). So we gave this a shot, hoping for the same situation. Sadly, this time the chair noise was pretty awful, and I would not reserve these cabins again on warm-weather cruises. Nonetheless, when the chairs weren't scraping at night, the cabin was a delight. The wrap-around patio and port hole window made it light and bright, and allowed us to see where we had been, as well as where we were going. Lots of room, and plenty of storage.
Our butler Hilario and room attendant Ashmara were amazing and made our trip incredibly comfortable and luxurious. Rick's knee was cutting up pretty badly by the end of the trip, and Hilario insisted on wheeling him around to dinner and the like. Huge help. Ashmara found us the last two foam isometric pillows available (tip--ask for them when you arrive if you prefer them to feathers), and they made our sleep even better after we started using them. Both these gentlemen were truly the best of the best, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
Shore excursions were nice, although the one on the submarine in Aruba, that had been billed as only lightly strenuous, turned out to require quite a long walk that was certainly not as expected and caused Rick a lot of physical distress. The submarine tour itself was amazing, though--it was just the walk that was problematic. The tour of the ship that I took by myself required a lot of walking and stairs, but, boy, was it worth it. It was fascinating to see behind the scenes of how the ship is run, and if mobility isn't a problem, I highly recommend it. The Curacao trolley tour was lots of fun, as was the bus tour of Bonaire. We also loved the Reidel wine-tasting aboard ship, learned a lot, and ended up with some great wine glasses, to boot.
That brings me to our tour of Grand Cayman that we had to cancel. The second night out, we had dinner in the specialty restaurant Murano. I had been on a Weight Watchers program for a few months before the cruise, eating very moderately. Stupidly, I gave in to my carnal desires, eating pear baked in brie, Chateaubriand, and a Grand Marnier souffle. Really, really, really stupid. Midnightish, I was sick, sick, sick and it lasted a couple of hours. When I called the next morning to cancel the Grand Cayman tour because I didn't feel well, the Excursion Office asked what my symptoms were. Let it just be said that I was whisked to the medical office, questioned closely, filled out tons of paperwork (including some for the Centers for Disease Control), escorted back to our cabin, and put in isolation for 24 hours to see how things progressed. I have worked in the health field, and know how serious norovirus can be, especially on ships, in schools, etc. My symptoms were exactly what they are for norovirus, and even though I knew and explained that they had been brought on by my own gluttony, no chances were being taken. I was completely compliant and was not in the least upset. Hats off to ship personnel. They did exactly what they needed to do, and did it with respect and care. We had several calls from various offices and concierges while I was in the room, special meals were sent up, we were given free in-room movies, the tour costs were refunded--one couldn't ask for better treatment. After the 24 hour period I was "released" and all returned to normal. But I didn't eat like that again.
Service and food in Luminae, the special restaurant for suite guests, were wonderful. We also had dinner in Blu one night, and at the buffet one night. We always had breakfast in our room, and that was a real luxury. We also love Michael's Club, and several days met some delightful people over a drink before dinner.
We were concerned that immigration procedures before disembarking in Key West (which we didn't do anyway because it was our one day of rain, and did it pour) would be lengthy and cumbersome. But they flowed very smoothly, thank goodness. It appeared that they were more challenging for non-U.S. citizens. Announcements kept being made about the length of the lines, always with apologies. But U.S. citizens sailed through.
We went to one show, which was a Whitney Houston commemorative, and it was great. We aren't really show-goers, but that was really fun. I also won about $40 in the casino, and when I cashed out after a couple of days, the woman at the desk smiled and said "Win and run." So I did.
Rick was in a wheelchair for disembarkation, and we couldn't have asked for it to be any better. Truthfully, big tips help.
Speaking of tips. Febreze now makes a non-product especially for small spaces and it managed the potential funky bathroom odors brilliantly. Just saying.
I packed too much again, but not crazily so. I just forget that people don't care if you wear the same outfit three times. I'll do better next time.
To wrap up, just this week Marriott Vacation Club offered a 7-night Caribbean cruise on the new Celebrity Edge--to islands that are different than the ones we saw on this one. We had been quite taken by information about the Edge that we had gotten onboard Equinox, so I decided to advantage of a very generous package for points, and we are going in February 2019. We are not frequent cruisers--we met people who have taken literally dozens and dozens, and maybe if we had started before our 70's, we could have, too. But it is fun to know that we have another coming up before too long, and we are really looking forward to learning about the Edge. Couldn't get us a suite, though. Who cares--the new infinite balconies expand your living space by almost 25% and that's good enough for us. Hope some of this information was helpful.

The name of the game is service.

Celebrity Equinox Cruise Review by Gainesvillegirl11

We chose this cruise on Equinox for its itinerary, length, Miami departure port, and availability for using Marriott Destination points. What a wonderful experience, with a few exceptions.

We reserved an aft corner Sky Suite (Cabin 2146 on Deck 12, starboard side on the resort deck), having really enjoyed the same deck and cabin type on Solstice to Alaska a couple of years ago. We had known from Cruise Critic tips before that trip that there was likely to be some noise from chairs scraping on the deck above, but on the Alaska cruise, it was minimal (probably because it was pretty chilly). So we gave this a shot, hoping for the same situation. Sadly, this time the chair noise was pretty awful, and I would not reserve these cabins again on warm-weather cruises. Nonetheless, when the chairs weren't scraping at night, the cabin was a delight. The wrap-around patio and port hole window made it light and bright, and allowed us to see where we had been, as well as where we were going. Lots of room, and plenty of storage.

Our butler Hilario and room attendant Ashmara were amazing and made our trip incredibly comfortable and luxurious. Rick's knee was cutting up pretty badly by the end of the trip, and Hilario insisted on wheeling him around to dinner and the like. Huge help. Ashmara found us the last two foam isometric pillows available (tip--ask for them when you arrive if you prefer them to feathers), and they made our sleep even better after we started using them. Both these gentlemen were truly the best of the best, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

Shore excursions were nice, although the one on the submarine in Aruba, that had been billed as only lightly strenuous, turned out to require quite a long walk that was certainly not as expected and caused Rick a lot of physical distress. The submarine tour itself was amazing, though--it was just the walk that was problematic. The tour of the ship that I took by myself required a lot of walking and stairs, but, boy, was it worth it. It was fascinating to see behind the scenes of how the ship is run, and if mobility isn't a problem, I highly recommend it. The Curacao trolley tour was lots of fun, as was the bus tour of Bonaire. We also loved the Reidel wine-tasting aboard ship, learned a lot, and ended up with some great wine glasses, to boot.

That brings me to our tour of Grand Cayman that we had to cancel. The second night out, we had dinner in the specialty restaurant Murano. I had been on a Weight Watchers program for a few months before the cruise, eating very moderately. Stupidly, I gave in to my carnal desires, eating pear baked in brie, Chateaubriand, and a Grand Marnier souffle. Really, really, really stupid. Midnightish, I was sick, sick, sick and it lasted a couple of hours. When I called the next morning to cancel the Grand Cayman tour because I didn't feel well, the Excursion Office asked what my symptoms were. Let it just be said that I was whisked to the medical office, questioned closely, filled out tons of paperwork (including some for the Centers for Disease Control), escorted back to our cabin, and put in isolation for 24 hours to see how things progressed. I have worked in the health field, and know how serious norovirus can be, especially on ships, in schools, etc. My symptoms were exactly what they are for norovirus, and even though I knew and explained that they had been brought on by my own gluttony, no chances were being taken. I was completely compliant and was not in the least upset. Hats off to ship personnel. They did exactly what they needed to do, and did it with respect and care. We had several calls from various offices and concierges while I was in the room, special meals were sent up, we were given free in-room movies, the tour costs were refunded--one couldn't ask for better treatment. After the 24 hour period I was "released" and all returned to normal. But I didn't eat like that again.

Service and food in Luminae, the special restaurant for suite guests, were wonderful. We also had dinner in Blu one night, and at the buffet one night. We always had breakfast in our room, and that was a real luxury. We also love Michael's Club, and several days met some delightful people over a drink before dinner.

We were concerned that immigration procedures before disembarking in Key West (which we didn't do anyway because it was our one day of rain, and did it pour) would be lengthy and cumbersome. But they flowed very smoothly, thank goodness. It appeared that they were more challenging for non-U.S. citizens. Announcements kept being made about the length of the lines, always with apologies. But U.S. citizens sailed through.

We went to one show, which was a Whitney Houston commemorative, and it was great. We aren't really show-goers, but that was really fun. I also won about $40 in the casino, and when I cashed out after a couple of days, the woman at the desk smiled and said "Win and run." So I did.

Rick was in a wheelchair for disembarkation, and we couldn't have asked for it to be any better. Truthfully, big tips help.

Speaking of tips. Febreze now makes a non-product especially for small spaces and it managed the potential funky bathroom odors brilliantly. Just saying.

I packed too much again, but not crazily so. I just forget that people don't care if you wear the same outfit three times. I'll do better next time.

To wrap up, just this week Marriott Vacation Club offered a 7-night Caribbean cruise on the new Celebrity Edge--to islands that are different than the ones we saw on this one. We had been quite taken by information about the Edge that we had gotten onboard Equinox, so I decided to advantage of a very generous package for points, and we are going in February 2019. We are not frequent cruisers--we met people who have taken literally dozens and dozens, and maybe if we had started before our 70's, we could have, too. But it is fun to know that we have another coming up before too long, and we are really looking forward to learning about the Edge. Couldn't get us a suite, though. Who cares--the new infinite balconies expand your living space by almost 25% and that's good enough for us. Hope some of this information was helpful.

Cabin Review

Sky Suite

Cabin S1 2146

As noted above, the only complaint we had about the cabin was the noise from the buffet/bar above us, and we knew going in that it could be a problem. Because I am a light sleeper, that probably bothered me more than it would many people.

Port & Shore Excursion Reviews

Submarine

Required much more strenuous activity getting to the submarine for my husband than was expected. Once onboard the submarine, the experience was wonderful. The walk back to the ship was hard for him again. People with limited mobility should really take care with this one.